How to Prune Azalea Shrubs

What azalea lover doesn’t look forward to spring, with the the blooming of azalea shrubs? Behold their beautiful blossoms brightening up your garden and landscapes with bountiful mounds of brilliant, breathtaking color. While most fanciers agree that landscapes featuring azalea shrubs look their best growing as nature directs, they would probably also agree that occasionally some pruning may be necessary, in order to maintain that much beloved form. Minimal pruning encourages azalea shrubs to retain their loose and rounded shaping. The best time to prune azaleas is when the spent blooms discolor and begin to shrivel. The perfect time of year is very soon after they have bloomed in the spring or early summer. If you prune them in winter, fall or late summer, you’ll be removing the flower buds, which will prevent them from blooming the following season. Once they are established, azalea shrubs require very little in the way of care. Pruned correctly, they will continue to reward you with layers upon layers of gorgeous blooms for many, many years to come.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pruning shears, the sharper, the better
• Loppers, the sharper, the better

Tools

1. 
    

   For limbs smaller than 1/2-inch thick, hand shears will perform nicely for you. You may not even need these, however, unless you want to create shaped or formal hedges. Remember that these creations will require a great deal of maintenance.Keep them sharp though, being mindful that if they are dull they will be tearing and crushing the azalea’s more tender limbs.

2. 
    

   Long-handled loppers are very handy for reaching the inner limbs, and they give you lots of leverage. That’s necessary for snipping woody branches 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter. You will probably find the loppers to be quite adequate for the entire project, meaning you might not even need hand shears.

3. When you’re clipping through woody stems, it’s really important that the blades make clean cuts. Always use very sharp tools for pruning.

Basic Pruning

4. The purpose of pruning is to permit air movement and sunlight into the center of the shrub, thereby promoting healthy new growth. You’ll be reaching down into the center of the plant to make cuts near larger woody limbs. Removing these longer stray branches will encourage that healthy growth.

5. 
    

   As with most things, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. The right way is to make your angular cut so that it's positioned just beyond and slopes away from the viable bud. Buds occur just above where a leaf is attached. If the plant has no leaves because it is dormant, then make the cut right above a mark left where a leaf was once attached.

6. 
    

   One of the two wrong ways is to cut too closely to the bud. This will cause the bud to dry out and die, leaving a dead stump.

7. 
    

   The other wrong way is to cut too far away from the bud. This will leave a large, unsightly and unproductive dead stump to remind you of your error. It may also be an avenue for disease to enter the plant.

Major Technique Number One: Thinning

8. 
    

   Of the two pruning techniques used for Azaleas (thinning and heading), the least drastic is the thinning method. Thinning encourages growth on limbs at the plant’s center by allowing light to penetrate the shrub. Cut dead and diseased branches about 6 inches into the live, healthy branch.

9. 
    
   Healthy branches will reveal a green layer just beneath the bark

   When thinning, remove branches back to the main stem or to other branches. This method is preferred to reduce the plant’s size, to remove diseased or damaged wood, or to remove branches that have become leggy and extend beyond the plant’s canopy.

10. Although thinning can actually be done any time of year without fear of causing a noticeable impact on bloom production, avoid it until after the spring blooms.

Major Technique Number Two: Heading

11. Heading actually refers to the cutting back of any branches drastically. This technique is useful to reduce the size of your azaleas when plants have grown too big for their intended area, when you wish to create a hedge or just want to renew old, over-grown plants.

12. 
     

    Also known as renewing, this technique results in bountiful new midsummer growth. Renew these plants by cutting them back to 6 to 12 inches in height. Trim off all but the strongest and best-placed shoots per stump. The result will be all brand-new baby growth with tons of leaf buds.

13. Frequent watering and appropriate feeding is essential to encourage new growth from the stumps. Feed these plants regularly with a water-soluble slow-release 12-6-6 fertilizer.

Tips & Warnings

• Dull tools make pruning a much harder project than need be. You can buy small files designed just for this purpose. Quite a few of the better quality loppers include spare blades.
• Before purchasing azalea shrubs, give some thought to the area that you want to place them in. You’ll create your own personal maintenance nightmare if you try to stuff a larger variety into a small growing area. Carefully read the labels and/or tags on the specimens that appeal to you. If necessary, consult your county extention agent, who can help you make a wise decision.